Here at Colorado Ballet, diverse artistry is showcased whether it’s
the dancers themselves, the choreography, the music, the plots of the
productions, or the costumes, etc. Our company consists of 30 dancers
with diverse backgrounds that come from all over the world. With St.
Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to
explore the different ways the holiday is celebrated around the globe,
and to look at how this romantic holiday is viewed in some of the unique
places that our own dancers are from!

In Japan, Valentine’s Day is celebrated on two different
dates, the 14th of February and the 14th of March. On February 14, the
women present a gift to the men, usually chocolate, and a month later on
the second date known as White Day, the men return the gift.
However, the men usually give the women white chocolate. Chocolate is by
far the most popular gift in Japan and women tend to make the chocolate
gifts by hand. Chocolates are given to male co-workers, bosses,
friends, family members, etc. However, chocolates given to men whom
women don’t feel romantic love for are called “giri-choco” (meaning
obligation chocolate).

In Russia, Valentine’s Day is
mostly celebrated the same way as in the U.S, including the giving of
roses, romantic dinners with significant others, and exchanging of
cards, however in some parts of the country the holiday has actually been banned or cancelled.

In Cuba, Valentine’s Day is known as Lover’s Day,
a day of love and friendship. This holiday has also been chosen by many
Cubans as a day of giving their sweethearts engagement rings; some have
even used it for their wedding day. Lavish custom gifts, big
get-togethers and parties, and local clubs/discothèques all decorated
and lined up with crowds, are just a few highlights of Lover’s Day in
this island country.

Canada, on the other hand, is
essentially the exact same as the U.S when it comes to Valentine’s Day, a
day where couples give a meaningful gift or spend a night out with
their partner. Flowers, candy, romantic cards, jewelry, and lingerie,
etc. are a few things that the men usually scramble to buy on the 14th
of February.

France, dubbed one of the most romantic
places in the world, celebrates Valentine’s Day because during the
Middle Ages, the French believed that birds began to mate mid-February,
therefore lovers started exchanging tokens of love on the 14th, the
saint’s day. To this day, romantics will visit the Indre village of St Valentin
for the Valentine’s Day festival, where the whole village is covered in
red flowers and couples can get married in the gazebo, after pinning
love notes on the Tree of Vows.

In Ireland, you can visit the actual St. Valentine’s Shrine in
Dublin on Valentine’s Day or on any other day. Similar to how the U.S
celebrates this holiday; the couples in Ireland usually give each other
small romantic gifts. However, the streets of Ireland are swept with
lavish decorations and the region is illuminated with fireworks at dusk.